Since Koeman took charge it has been expected that Netherlands would move away from the 4-3-3 for the 5-3-2 which he favoured while at Feyenoord and worked well for Louis van Gaal at the 2014 World Cup.

At his press conference on Thursday, Koeman said when asked about his formation, “You already know, then why do you ask? I call it: no 4-3-3. I have been thinking about my selection and the players over the past period. Where are the qualities of the players and what is the best system? I’m not saying we’ll never play 4-3-3 again, but I’m going to use these four international matches for something else. ”

On the reason for a change, Koeman said, “We no longer have – with all due respect – the real top players. Then you look for it in other things, like another system. In my selection policy I have also chosen players who can play this system perfectly. It is a sum and we have worked on it and trained on it. I want to see that again against England. ”

Netherlands face England on Friday before travelling to Portugal on Monday. They then face another two friendlies against Slovakia and Italy in May and June.